ZIM vs IND: 3rd ODI Review – India overcome Raza’s heroics to register whitewash
A spirited Zimbabwe side gave a tough competition to team India during the third and final ODI encounter played at the Harare Sports Club on August 22 (Monday). Batters Shubman Gill and Sikandar Raza were excellent for their respective sides, but the Men in Blue somehow managed to tilt the match in their favour.
Earlier in the match, team India won the toss and opted to have a bat first. Opening batters skipper KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan accumulated 50+ runs for the opening wicket. However, both of them got out in quick succession. Young batters Gill and Ishan Kishan batted brilliantly as they both crossed the fifty-run mark.
Gill, however, went one step further and stroked an excellent hundred for his team, while Kishan, unfortunately, got run out after completing his half-century. Zimbabwe bowlers made a decent comeback towards the ending phase of the first innings as the visitors scored 289 in their 50 overs. Brad Evans scalped five wickets for his side.
In reply, Zimbabwe had a poor start as they lost their opening batter Innocent Kaia batters Sean Williams, Regis Chakabava, and Brad Evans made some short contributions, but Raza was the saviour for the home team as he smashed the Indian bowling all around the park and completed an outstanding hundred.
At one stage it looked like Zimbabwe would win the game easily, but some late wickets from Shardul Thakur and Avesh Khan meant that the Men in Blue completed a clean sweep over the home team.
Top performers of the match:
Sikandar Raza
Sikandar Raza’s excellence with the bat somewhat stunned the Indian bowling unit. The right-handed batter looked composed throughout the innings and played with utmost ease against both pace and spin. His innings ended on a score of 115 in 95 balls.
Axar Patel
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel continued his good work with the ball as the finger spinner gave away just 30 runs in his 10-over quota and scalped two crucial wickets of skipper Chakabava and senior batter Williams.
What’s next for both sides?
The Zimbabwe side will now be up against Australia in an ODI series starting next week While team India will reach Dubai to play the 2022 T20 Asia Cup.
